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During the years of mass Yiddish migration to the Americas, the United States and Canada formed a single, contiguous ?culture area? for the performance of klezmer, or traditional Yiddish, folk music. But a new revival of a medieval klezmer tradition has recently oc...

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During the years of mass Yiddish migration to the Americas, the United States and Canada formed a single, contiguous ?culture area? for the performance of klezmer, or traditional Yiddish, folk music. But a new revival of a medieval klezmer tradition has recently occurred in both countries. This essay examines the klezmer musicians? Backwards March, performed to welcome the Sabbath at KlezKanada, an annual summer retreat that celebrates Yiddish arts and letters in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec. The tradition is traced from its medieval origin to modernity in Eastern Europe, through its recent migration to North America. The work demonstrates the creative and strategic ways that Klezkanada, and its wintertime counterpart?the American Klezkamp?both adhere to the same tradition while holding fast to their own distinct cultural boundaries.